


I Believe In Us

by Kimmy



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Ghosts, Happy Ending, M/M, Sad, Short & Sweet, Too Fed Up To Tag Properly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 20:40:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10226885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kimmy/pseuds/Kimmy
Summary: He stands in front of the mirror, barely able to see his translucent silhouette and tries to believe in himself. No one else does.A story about a little depressed ghost called Magnus and a man who moved into his loft called Alec.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired partially by The Sad Ghost Club webcomic.

 

Miss Battista and her daughter Lyla are very nice, and sometimes, Magnus thinks she can almost sense him.

 

But Miss Battista is a great mother, nothing like Magnus’ own mother was, and she assures Lyla that ghosts don’t exist. 

 

Magnus feels himself get weaker and more transparent and stands in the bathroom, looking in the mirror, trying hard to keep the faith.

 

***

 

Andy Green is a student who doesn’t even have time to think about anything but his books so Magnus gets annoyed and starts breaking his glasses.

 

Andy Green just gets new ones and blames the wind, because he doesn’t believe in ghosts.

 

Magnus stands in front of the mirror, see-through and fragile and repeats to himself that he believes in himself.

 

***

 

Sue Dalton doesn’t even notice the broken vase. 

 

But Sue Dalton has a computer rather than a laptop - one with a real mouse instead of the bloody touchpad thingy and finally, Magnus can learn about how the world has changed in the last few years. 

 

Hours later Magnus wishes he didn’t. 

 

He stands in front of the mirror and repeats to himself, words of faith he’s not sure he still has.

 

***

 

He just really needs someone who would believe in him, because he’s not sure he can do it himself anymore.

 

Once, Magnus wondered about death with something akin to curiosity, maybe even excitement. Now, he doesn’t want to fade away.

 

***

 

Mr. Leigh doesn’t believe in ghosts until Magnus starts throwing books from their shelves.

 

He get’s a bit stronger, a bit less transparent but it doesn’t really help, considering Mr. Leigh is gone the next day.

 

The loft is empty for months and Magnus admits he feels lonely.

 

***

 

Then, there is Alexander Lightwood.

 

***

 

Once, Magnus thought he finally understood love. 

 

But then, the woman he loved got taken and bit by a vampire. It took weeks before she was able to come to terms with it. And then, for a while, it was amazing. 

 

Camille was immortal, like Magnus, and they had a future.

 

But Camille changed, or maybe had shown her true colours. She became vicious. Less sarcastic and more plain cruel. She snarled at Magnus instead of talking to him.

 

But Magnus stayed because he hadn’t known there was a world outside Camille.

 

And that night, when he proposed, she laughed at him, and broke him and told him about a Russian mundane.

 

So when 2 years later Camille came back to Magnus he told her he didn’t want her anymore. Told her he didn’t believe her. Told her he believed in true love and he believed he could do better than her.

 

That didn’t go over well.

 

It was all very dramatic, dark and tragic. But in the end, it was all very simple. Camille turned up in the middle of a summoning, knocking Magnus out, tying him up and making a deal with a demon while Magnus struggled.

 

And in the end, the demon killed Camille, before, desperate to get out of the pentagram, it killed itself.

 

And Magnus has been cursed to be a ghost, trapped in his own loft until somebody believed his naive wishes, Camille said. And if someone was ever foolish enough to believe in his childish true love, then let Magnus have fun living and dying with them.

 

***

 

Magnus knew if he ever got back he wouldn’t be immortal anymore. 

 

He wasn’t sure if he would still have magic, but he knew for sure he would have a normal mundane life span. 

 

That, paradoxically, was the thought that made him hold on to the last sliver of faith he had.

 

Camille might have thought immortals to be better than mundanes and better than true love. But Magnus? Magnus wished more than anything to be mortal and just get to live one life.

 

***

 

Alexander Lightwood had angel blood. Magnus knew it, but he also knew Nephilim hadn’t been warriors for ages, not even knowing of their heritage and living like mundanes, most of them unaware of the Downworld even.

 

But Alec obviously had the sight.

 

Alec knew there was more to the world than met the eye. 

 

For the first time in almost two centuries, Magnus saw colours in his see through silhouette in the mirror.

 

***

 

Alec Lightwood, even if he believed in ghosts, was a challenge. 

 

At first, Magnus didn’t want to break anything.

 

At first, Magnus hoped he could even make Alec see him or hear him.

 

Then, he resorted to sitting on Alec, but  Alec obviously felt something, as he changed positions with an uncomfortable look on his face.

 

So, 3 months after Alec moved in, once he knew everything he could about the man, from his friends, books and careful observation, Magnus decided enough was enough.

 

***

 

“What the hell?”

 

Alec startled as the sound of breaking glass reached his ears, and he followed it to the living room, expecting the wind to have knocked something over.

 

He did not expect a closed window and a vase full of decorative sand in pieces on the floor.

 

But mostly, he didn’t expect the word  _ Hello! _ written in the sand.

 

Alec Lightwood could see the other world. He knew about seelies, warlock, werewolves and vampires. He saw a mermaid once. He knew there was more to the world than anyone could even think.

 

But… ghosts? What else could it be?

 

He startled as, clearly confused by Alec’s lack of reaction, whatever or whoever was writing in the sand had smoothed it over and began writing again. 

 

_ Pen and paper would be a lot faster, you know? _

 

A ghost, and a sassy one at that.

 

Strangely, Alec felt… intrigued. A bit excited even.

 

“Yes, just… give me a second.”

 

He ran to his room to get something to write with, thinking about everything that was happening. Maybe it wasn’t right, but even though Alec’s heart was racing, he wasn’t afraid.

 

Nothing ever happened to Alec. His parents always ignored him, just like the rest of his siblings, barely even reacting to the fact he was gay, and dumping the care for Max, Izzy and Jace on him once he was old enough. 

 

He could see the Downworld, but he never really interacted with it, and the few conversations he had were just that - conversations. Vampires are less exciting if you just chat over a cup of coffee instead of fighting in a magical war.

 

Then Alec started university, Jace took over as the family caretaker, and Alec’s life became even duller.

 

Really, a ghost in his loft seemed more of a blessing - a long awaited change from his routine rather than something to worry about.

 

***

 

They talked for hours, until they ran out of paper, and then Alec suggested a laptop, brought out a mouse and they talked even longer. 

 

By two weeks, Alec could hear Magnus.

 

A month later, he could see him, translucent, but there.

 

***

 

“You have a beautiful laugh.”

 

“Stop it, Alexander.”

 

***

 

Magnus no longer stood in front of the mirror repeating “I believe in myself”, but 200 years of insecurities don’t just go away. Still, standing in front of the mirror repeating “I believe him” was the best thing that ever happened to him.

 

***

 

Once he learned that Magnus wasn’t dead, but cursed, Alec was dead set on finding a way to bring Magnus back.

 

It was sweet.

 

A week later Alec let slip about being gay.

 

Oh, it was very,  _ very  _ sweet of him.

 

Magnus couldn’t help but wish for him to succeed.

 

***

 

Day by day, Magnus and Alec spent pouring over books, either learning for Alec’s classes or trying to find a way to reverse the curse.

 

And yet, half a year later, they still had nothing more to go on other than Camille’s words.

 

***

 

“Magnus. I think…”

 

“Shh, Alexander, I am trying to check if I can access my magic.”

 

“Magnus, you have been trying for an hour now, you clearly cannot. I think we can break this curse without magic. I think it’s a lot simpler than that.”

 

“Don’t say that, please don’t say that.”

 

“Magnus, you knew it all along.”

 

“And so did you, but we both know it’s not an option. No one could ever love me, Alec.”

 

Alec. Not Alexander. Magnus never called him that, but now Alec could see the walls he was trying to put up, terrified by the prospect of love being his only way out.

 

But it really way that simple, not difficult at all.

 

“Magnus, Camille only said somebody needs to love you, not that you need to love them back.”

 

Magnus looked up at him, confused and almost hurt, and Alec just decided to show him instead of using pointless words, and looking at the clear, barely translucent figure of the warlock, Alec smiled and then leaned in.

 

And their lips met, really met, soft and unpracticed and desperate and they parted too quickly, and yet not quickly enough, both unsure and yet so certain.

 

Alec brought his hand up, extending it to Magnus and Magnus took it, feeling the warmth of Alec’s body and feeling salty, wet tears on his cheeks.

 

“Alec, I...”

 

“I told you it would work. Even if you don’t love me back.”

 

Magnus almost choked, breath suddenly so precious to him, words suddenly gone and emotions tearing him apart.

 

He took Alec in his arms, in a tight embrace and they just held each other, relishing in being able to touch. 

 

“But you see, my Alexander, the thing is that I do. I love you.”


End file.
